Poetry – GTC

Outline J. Paul Getty

December 23, 2011

don’t bother biography j paul getty only need remember earned billions threatened employees spending company dimes and when young women rebuked for ignoring replied i shall miss you my dear

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Love Machine

December 22, 2011

love machine in hallway gives more candy cookies than pay for twice change deserve pump machine every day getting fatter sad when stops bonuses then halts everything no matter how many coins justified to slap kick curse damn machine and ignore staring fools

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Grave of Great Yankees

December 17, 2011

Who the hell ordered opening this quite deep grave we didn’t know existed in a cemetery near New York City? Turn off that caterpillar and crane and quit pulling out caskets stacked on each other. Why’re you changing the order? Just put ‘em back the right way: Lou Gehrig first, followed by Babe Ruth then…

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Tijuana Taxi Ride

December 16, 2011

american drunk in tijuana night lumbers into taxi and in spanish asks for senoritas and marijuana fine says cabbie few minutes later american admits really wants cocaine cabbie reminds not what said then silently drives way out and says here’s best place for you american enters and thinks goddamn that guy dropping me where there’s…

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Internal James

December 13, 2011

in crunch throw king james ball don’t really want but gotta dribble hard in place rather not drive now maybe i’ll shoot from timbuktu or you do something

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Alarm Radio

December 13, 2011

another tardy you’re fired boss told fred sir i’ve been creative as well as diligent in this matter alarm radio was problem but stopped listening to wakeup news which interested me too much to get right up until fell back asleep rock and classical music soothed into slumber then tried country which had hated but…

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Deadbolt Rules

December 11, 2011

(This vertical prose was rewritten horizontally and posted September 22, 2012.) hell of hot day fishing in thin mountain air sun scorched harold and he drank too many beers didn’t matter he caught no fish he had to return to rat hole room at rear of house in bad area rusty deadbolt jammed and impatient…

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Wealth

December 8, 2011

This story appears in the collection “In Other Hands”

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Health in Good Old Days

December 6, 2011

Sometimes Joe wishes born hundred years earlier so could’ve ridden horses to work and avoided traffic, television, radio, phones, computers, and other intrusive stuff, usually, though, he remembers kindergarten encephalitis would’ve killed before spinal taps, and junior high knee cutting off blood would’ve ruined leg without precision surgery, and anxiety would’ve destroyed before tranquilizers, and…

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Administrative Offices

December 3, 2011

petty administrators provoked faculty prompting latter to bribe custodian for key to weekend of work on monday administrative offices everywhere padded and locked from outside

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Permanent Press

December 3, 2011

drop that sweltering iron

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Perchance

December 3, 2011

are you perchance a difficult person

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West Bank Water

December 1, 2011

1. Jordan River river jordan flowing wide diverted west to sea south to desert leaving bed of roasted shit 2. Olive Trees occupied olive trees not already dead need a drink so do i and a shower and clean clothes i can’t have but am encouraged settlers grow much green grass 3. Giving don’t claim…

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Unusual Ladies

November 24, 2011

there was something quite unusual about those three sisters sitting on sofa long blonde hair distorted a bit but otherwise all right really they were quite fat a different kind of fat sort of gray or pink in not only bodies but faces i didn’t understand and decided not to ask when one said we’re…

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Mayflower Thanksgiving

November 23, 2011

strange wooden white man ship bringing centuries bad thanksgivings happy god this time leaving us torpedoes

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Gold Mining

November 22, 2011

miles underground it sleeps while men in saloons forget they have to mine and crush fifty tons ore before pumping particles into cyanide lake to realize but a sparkling ounce Source: Lecture by geologist Tim Elam at the Kern County Historical Society, November 19, 2011.

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Founding Fathers Peppered

November 22, 2011

tragic founding fathers lacked internet when signing declaration of independence or they’d have seen pepper sprayed in faces Source: A clever photo being emailed around.

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Water Polo War

November 21, 2011

after russians trampled hungary in ‘fifty-six victims got better matchup in summer olympics red army entered water polo pool minus tanks and planes reports pool turned red exaggerated water only pink and hungary won this war four zip

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Empty Boots

November 21, 2011

on massive foundation in budapest park great hungarian patriots erected me twenty-five feet high in bronze to celebrate seventieth birthday and thank for destroying nazis in few years without me imperialists threw steel ropes around neck burned legs with blow torches and pulled body down to desecrate face beneath empty boots To see the “Empty…

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Freeway Flow

November 20, 2011

another gridlocked nightmare on hot 405 south in santa monica mountains needing to pee late for work ready to drive on shoulder or in emergency lane must get hell out to civilized community would’ve imploded when whitecaps whooshed me through cloudy cold canyon flowing too fast to stop

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